Hawaii's shrimp revenue down

December 04, 2017

By Matt Jones

Shrimp disease issues in China have dragged down sales of Hawaii’s shrimp broodstockFotolia

Shrimp disease issues in China have dragged down sales of Hawaii’s shrimp broodstock for the second year in a row, data from the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) show.

Hawaiian farmed seafood was valued at $75.7 million in 2016, a drop of less than 1 percent from 2015. This marks the second annual decline following a record high of $78.2 million in 2014.

China, a key market for the state’s shrimp broodstock, has faced significant shrimp disease issues, with some farmers reportedly seeing disease rates as high as 70-80 percent and had to clear up to 90 percent of their ponds.

However, Hawaii state officials do not believe the decline is reflective of the state’s entire aquaculture industry.